Cooks' Puna says coalition still possible

The Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna says he won't rule out a deal between the two major parties.

The Cook Islands News reports Mr Puna says this is despite the views of the Democratic Party Leader Wilkie Rasmussen.

Mr Rasmussen says the call for a coalition is too little too late.

"Now he finds himself in a losing situation. And that is he's only got 11 members, we've got 12 members with the possibility of one, making it 13, which will be then a clear majority to govern. He is now being mischievious and throwing these sort of suggestions to the public or to the media."

Mr Puna said a lost leader without vision would not be able to stop a coalition if that's what the two parties want.

The Prime Minister said Mr Rasmussen had invested all his chips in a one-dimensional deal with the One Cook Islands party.

One Cook Islands and the Democratic Party are backing a single candidate in next month's Aitutaki by-election which will finalise which of the three parties is to hold power.